Naive
by Singe
Summary: A vignette of sorts with no real character specified. Different from my usual work, Naive looks into the place that we all once were and asks what sacrifices are necessary to keep that innocence.


**Author's Note:** Well, I knew I had to post something, so I figured that I might as well post something different. That and I'm in a mood to write. Hell, I might even finish/work on the third chapter of Maybe that I've tentatively started, who knows. This is written from the point of view of one of the cats/guardians of the senshi (I think it leans more toward Luna…) or could, I suppose be Sailor Pluto's or Queen Serenity's. 

Moving on, I'm gonna be at Anime Detour next weekend, so if anyone else is planning on going, give me a head's up and maybe we can hang out…though I and some of the people that are going with from my anime club are eccentric, to say the least. 

Hmm…what else? Random comment? Well, okay. 

ACK!! KEEP HIM AWAY!!! MOMO-CHAN IS BACK TO STEAL MY SOUL!!! (And yes, that is the Momo from Prince of Tennis…don't ask…that one is all Jess' fault)

Disclaimer: Oops. Almost forgot this. I own nothing but a lot of various, useless anime/manga/videogames and things associated with them. Hell, at the moment, I technically don't even own my soul (see above comment).

Title: Naïve

Chapter: One (and I plan to leave it at that…)

By: Singe

Rating: PG

I remember how things used to be. How so pure and naïve they all were, when they were just children, royalty, true, but still children. I remember the looks in each of their eyes as they learned of their future duties as senshi. I remember the pain in Serenity-hime's as she realized that her closest friends were destined to sacrifice everything for her.

            That night, she cried, begged her mother to release her friends from the bondage of the pledge each had taken. In the end she fell asleep, listening to her mother's soothing words and explanations, but from that day forth, Serenity-hime had done anything everything she could think of to change her friends back from the warriors they were becoming to the simple princesses they had been before. In the end, it had been the senshi themselves who had taken her aside and convinced her that they felt no anger of the parts they were to play, that they were all to happy losing their lives if it meant her safety.

            I remember the looks in their eyes, the first time they came in contact with the Prince of Earth and his royal guards, of the almost unthinking love and acceptance there, which was so easily returned. Though they tried to hide it from each other, their families, and themselves, it was so obvious to those such as I who had watched them as they grew, who knew them better than almost any other. But above all, I knew that the senshi were prepared to kill the men they loved if ever there was a danger to the royal family of the Moon. And they did. Even as they themselves died in the inferno of that last, final battle within the Moon Palace, they destroyed the one thing that could ever possibly have become between them and their princess.

            I remember watching, though I had tried to turn away, the smiles on worn on the faces of the senshi, even as the tears and blood ran freely from them. I remember leading Her Majesty through the crumbling halls, trying to find some place to hide, where she could be protected so that I might venture forth to find Serenity-hime, who had disappeared during the ball. I remember finding Serenity-hime. I remember the sword. I remember the blood pouring from the wound that she herself had inflicted. I remember the bittersweet smile, the softly spoken "I'll soon join you, my love. Endy…wait for me…" and then, the final exhalation of breath. I remember the bitter triumph in her eyes as Serenity-hime died.

            When at last, finding no other option in her grief stricken heart, Queen Serenity sealed Metallia and Beryl, I prayed for them. For them and those left behind. As the white light encased us all, I only wished that one day I would be able to see their eyes again, as they once had been. Those sweet, naïve eyes that knew no pain beyond what little they themselves had experienced.

            Through time and space I had traveled, waiting. Always waiting. Waiting for the day when I would find the heir to the Moon Kingdom. Waiting for the awakening of the senshi and the rebirth of the Silver Crystal. Waiting for the battles to begin again. And then, one otherwise unremarkable day, it finally happened. It seemed to me, on that crowded Tokyo street, that nothing but a pair of brilliant blue eyes mattered, that nothing else existed except those innocent cerulean eyes. And then they vanished, lost in the crowd.

            I remember the endless stream of night and day it took before I finally saw those eyes again. I remember the months it took before all of the Inner senshi were gathered. I remember watching as they once again killed the men they had loved, once upon a time. I remember hearing Beryl's mockery, as each died, one by one. I remember the white light that destroyed both Metallia and Beryl, that returned life to the still forms of the senshi and returned the Earth prince his generals in the forms of spirits encased in stone. We thought then that the worst was over, that no more real threat existed, that we could once more return to peace. How wrong we were.

            Years past, each bringing another obstacle, another tragedy that tore at all of our souls, so many that it is seemingly impossible to remember them all correctly. On and off the battlefield, Serenity-hime watched as her senshi struggled to retain their humanity, to keep the bloodshed in her defense from turning them into nothing but the empty shells of what they once were. She tried to convince them to live for themselves, if only for once in a while, though even she realized the futility once the Outer senshi were awakened. 

            Sometimes I can't help but wonder how any of them could have existed for so long without breaking. Even the strongest fall prey to their inner darkness, but yet the senshi seemed to handle the battles and pain of their daily lives as if they were nothing, asking no help from anyone, save each other other. When the shared dream of Crystal Tokyo was finally realized, I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that it was at long last, over. And I suppose in a way, it was.

            The battles became less frequent, the senshi settled down, to an extent, created families, and were finally able to live normal lives. But some things would never be changed. Though within Crystal Tokyo we had all found peace, the eyes of the senshi were still those of a warrior: haunted by the past, hardened by battle, cynical of the world, and above all, cold to any who could not read the hidden emotions there. They could not, would not, ever lose those eyes, the eyes of killers, that I knew. And yet, when they looked upon the smiling face of their Serenity-hime, those eyes shown. More so than the brilliant marble walls or gleaming crystal, they shown with the love that can only be born from heartache.

            I remember when I first realized why they had been able to sustain for so long, through so much. I remember the eyes of the next generation as they learned of their fates and could not help but compare those eyes to those of their mother's. I remember the cycle starting to begin again with Small Lady's protests. But most of all, I remember Serenity's eyes. I remember the innocence and the beauty within. I remember thinking that no matter what, it was worth anything to see those eyes so naïve, even after having lived such a long life.

Well…that was odd. ^.^ Don't really have much else to say…well, I could rant, but it's better to not get me started. I honestly had no idea that this was gonna turn out the way it did, and actually had no idea what I was gonna write about when I began to write this. But…eh, oh well. What'd you think? Have I been sleep deprived for too long? Has my muse said, "Screw it" and left to go get drunk in Canada or something? Did this make any sense? Let me know by clicking on that helpful little box on the bottom of the page that causes the review form to pop up. __


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